Joseph Sunderland who was in 1805 a powder monkey on board
his Majesty’s cruiser Beaulieu – which claims to have brought to England the
first news of the great navalvictory at
Trafalgar- celebrated his one hundredth birthday at Milton-next- Sittingbourne
last Wednesday April 3rd1889.Such an antique occasion
brought together a good many of the centenarian’s friends ,
and to them he recited some of his experiences of his early years.

Although complaining that , after a lapse of more than
eighty years,names and dates were apt
to get a little “ higgle-de- piggledy”
the old man nevertheless was able to give a fairly clear account of some of his
adventures at a most exciting period of EnglishNaval History..

He was born on April 3rd 1789 at Sheerness , Sutherland stated that when only 12 years old he
entered the Royal Navy as a first class boy .He joined the Kingfisher a sloop
of ten guns which was sent out to the West Indieson a roving commission .The sloop was
commanded by Captain Cripp , of whom Sutherland spoke
witha respectamounting almost to veneration . “ Ah! “ he
said as his memory ran back over the long vista of years , “ He was a nice
feller “ .Captain Cripp , it seems ,was very
considerate towards his men and boys in days when the lashwas pretty fairly used in the Navy.Sutherland , however had tasted the “ cat “
.His back had not been “pickled “ like some sailors backs which he had seen,
but he owned up to six strokes , and spoke of the castigation in such a way as
to suggest at the time it was not ill-deserved .

The old man proceeded to recall several skirmishes with the
French when the Kingfisher was off the West Indies , and particularly one
occasion off Jamaica , when before the British ships , which had been “
cleaning up “ , could get to work , the Frenchmen“topped their boom “ and left them. Then he
described the long chase – a long chase because it was a stern chase – which
ensued before the “ darnedmounseers “ were
overhauled and the fight began.

Then our men stripped to the waist for action, took farewells to each other , and
one heard a comrade addressed in terms such as this “ Tom, if I am done for ,
let ‘em know at home .” Then Sutherland pictured his
own work as a humble powder- monkey how, divested almost of clothing , for the
hot climate was trying in the extreme , he “ handed up the powder fromthe magazine below” ,how it was his duty to keep one particular
gun well supplied , and how elaborate the precautions taken by the erection of
“ fearnought “ screens between the magazine and the
hatchways , and by the prohibition of the use of shoes , to prevent the risk of
explosion while the powder was being handed about. All this ,
as told from the centenarians lips , sounded rather like a chapter from some
popular naval history , so difficult did it seem to believe that Sutherland
himself could have taken a share in the transaction which he related.

It was not given to Sutherland to take part in Englands greatest naval history – that of Trafalgar – but
the old man claimsthat the cruiser Beaulieu,( called by him with a supreme disregard for French pronunciation,the “ Bowley “)
then on the way home from the West India Station , was the first to take the
news of Lord Nelsonsdying victory to
England. The Beaulieu , to which Sutherland had bee transferred , fell in with
the British Fleet after the battle and had learnt by signal of the glorious
triumph of the great Admiral and of his unfortunate death on board the Victory.
The centenarian described the battered condition of many of the ships , how they were riddled with shot , how some had lost
their topmast, and others had had their yards shot away, and how the hurricane
, which even then had not wasted all its fury, and prevented all communication
except by signal between the Beaulieu and other ships , had resulted in the
loss of a great many prizes . The Beaulieu took the news with all speed to
either Portsmouth or Plymouth
–Sutherland was not quite sure which- where she arrived in the
early days of November. The old man remembers the popular rejoicings
, mingled with a touch of deep national sorrow , with which the news
ofNelson’s grand victory was received
in England but
, he adds significantly , ”Wewere not
then allowed to go ashore as they are now-a days.” Sutherland stated he had
himself seen the English naval commander .Before the Kingfisher left for the West
Indies she was inspected by Nelson, who was described by
Sutherland as “ a poor little diminutive feller , but
full of pluck and beloved by the whole fleet “.

Soon after the battle of Trafalgar and when Englands naval supremacy
was assured , Sutherland , then between the ages of
sixteen and seventeen , left the Royal Navy and entered as an apprentice in
Sheerness Dockyard .Here he servedhis country in
the work of ship construction for a long period , and retired thirty years ago
upon a pension .which keeps him in comparative comfort. In his short service at
seahe was
twice wounded by pistol shots ,but not seriously , and his good luck continued
in after life, when he was on one occasionknocked overboard , and on another got adrift in a small boat off the Nore on a very stormy night. Though now a hundred years ago , Sutherlandis
as active as many men of three score
and ten . He stands over six feet in height , walks
about the house and gardens ,and was able to rig up a couple of flags on his
birthday . He finds a comfort in clay pipes , and
confesses to having been a smoker all his life .” I used to chew “he observed“ but I gave that up “ . His only stimulant
is a little whisky, which he prefers to the orthodox naval drink
, rum. His friends predict that he has several more years of life before
him , but the centenarian says , philosophically ,as he shakes his head,“No, I hope not ,I have had quiet enough of
it .” He, howeverstill seems to enjoy life and seems fairly comfortable at 91
Charlotte StreetMilton.In the locality he is very popular
, and the school children brought many gifts of flowers on the occasion
of his birthday.

Like many old sailors ,Sutherland
is wedded to the “ wooden walls“of old Englandand has supreme contempt for the ironclads of
today .” I would sooner, “ he says, “ tie a shot round
my neck and jump overboard than go to sea in one of them .“ He predicts that
when we have a large naval battle we shall find out that we have made a mistake .” In our wooden ships, “ he
says “ if a shot came through our sides we had plugs , and could plug the hole.
Nowadays , if a shot strikes an armour plate , the
damage spreads , the iron splits in all directions , and you can do nothing. As
to the seamen he thinks they are as plucky as ever “ pluckier
than they were , because there isn’t the tyranny aboard ship that there used to
be. All this shows the centenarian still keeps an eye upon current affairs ,
but that eye begins to show signs of feebleness , for it can no longer read the
newspapers , and no spectacles seem to strengthen its power. Old Sutherland
spends most of his time in his armchair by the fireside , and sometimes
dreaming of his early days , he finds himself humming his favourite“shanty “ ending up with “ Haul away , my
boys , haul away “

A correspondent
informs me that Mr. Sutherland was entered in Sheerness Dockyard as a first
class shipwright on July 3rd1815 , and was
rated as a leading man of shipwrights on December 22nd 1845. He was superannuatedonJune 22nd 1860 . Among those who went to offer
their congratulations to the veteran on attaining his century was Mr.W.HBeal of 5
Marine Terraces Sheerness. The East Kent Gazette says that the hundredth
birthday of Mr.Sutherland
was regarded as an event in the locality. Presents were made by various friends
, one gift consisting of a cake which was studied with one hundred almonds to
represent the number of years he had lived The school children presented him
with flowers and afterwards joined in singing “Aukl
Lang Syne “